Chapter Text
Any other evening, the cold rain pouring down the streets of London would have scared the groups of children playing outside away inside their houses. Any other evening, their mothers would have been calling them to come home, many would’ve been eating dinner, some would’ve even been asleep, already. But this evening wasn‘t like any other evening…
“Outta the way, lady!”, Noodle’s ponderings were abruptly cut short by a kid in a skeleton costume zooming past her, holding a rain cape over himself and his, generously filled, bucket of candy. Three other kids followed in quick succession, barely avoiding a collision with her. The guitarist sighed and continued her walk home. She wasn’t upset with those kids, but their carelessness made her melancholic - it was a reminder of the kind of childhood she’d never had. Most days, it never bothered her to think about. But, as she‘d realized multiple times over the course of it - today wasn‘t like any other day, after all.
The high heel boots she wore caused water to splash out of puddles, as she made no attempt to dodge them. She still loved to walk in puddles. If no one was looking, she’d jump inside of them, too. Her boots were waterproof, so she figured - why not? At the next puddle, she leaped right inside of it, sending wet splatters all over the glistening pavement, her tights and her black pencil skirt, too. She smiled to herself and began to run home, as fast as the heels had allowed her to.
When she arrived at the front entrance to New Kong Studios, she took a long look at it and a deep breath to soothe her lungs, strained from her run. All of the lights in the house appeared to be off. Was everyone asleep, already? It was then that she began to feel anxious about what she had planned for tonight. She stretched her fingers out inside of her jacket pocket in search of something - a little plastic bag. It was still there. She withdrew it from the pocket and examined it, hesitating. Inside of the bag, tightly packed, were six large, white pills. Raindrops began pooling up on the plastic surface. She hesitated for the last time before unlocking the door.
I have to do this, she thought. Otherwise, I’ll never know for sure…
“Happy fucking birthday, Noodle!”
Noodle almost yelped at the lights suddenly illuminating the hallway and parts of the kitchen and the living room, as well as the bats and spiders made of paper hanging from the ceiling as decoration. Murdoc’s nasally, slurred voice was the one to exclaim the greeting as she walked in - quickly followed by 2D’s higher pitch and Russel’s usual low, breathy tone, both without the gratuitous swear smack in the middle of it, however.
Her gaze examined the rest of the ambiance - it wasn’t anything to write home about, but the boys have clearly made an effort beyond the kind of party-planning that was normally to be expected of them (which consisted of an entire car trunk full of booze being scattered across the kitchen, and a pack of crisps if they were feeling a bit extra that day). A few store-bought Halloween decorations have been sloppily put up around the place and the kitchen looked somewhat orderly, for once.
“Wow, guys… This is…”
“Yeah, it’s all for you - our baby girl”, Murdoc approached her, as he stood the nearest to the doorframe, while 2D was lounging on a bar stool and Russel stood slouched over the counter. On said counter rested quite the impressive amount and array of alcoholic beverages, as well as a store-bought chocolate cake. Before Noodle could say anything more, Murdoc gave her a hefty pat on the back, then threw his arm over her shoulder. “We would’ve been nothing without you, Noodle, that’s clear to everyone, yeah? So I hope you continue to bring us all together and let’s make sure our next album’s the best one yet, you all got that?”, his gaze swerved around the room, taking an obvious extra couple seconds to hang on to 2D menacingly, “Of course I’m going to forgive you all for goin’ off recording while I was gone and blatantly replacing me with the first other green guy you found… But hey, I’m not known to hold grudges, yeah? Let bygones be bygones and all that jazz…”
Murdoc’s monologue prompted an awkward silence that Russel summed up with a “fuckin’ dumbass” mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear. They all knew Murdoc wasn’t thrilled about the band having recorded “The Now Now” in his absence, but nobody felt particularly guilty about it. Russel reached for something under the counter and laid it flat on top of it, pushing it in Noodle’s direction. It was a rather large, but flat object, wrapped in wrinkly gift paper.
“You the best, girl. Enough said. Hope you get a kick out of this.”
“Oh wow… I wonder what’s inside?”
“‘S from all of us, yeah?”, 2D spoke up sheepishly, seeming almost concerned that Noodle would think he didn’t have a gift for her. She shot him an acknowledging glance and nodded quickly before proceeding to unpack the present, but not before noticing that he was wearing a dress shirt, (in baby pink), with the sleeves rolled up, those monk straps he’d wear with no socks on, and ankle-length white pants. It was no longer such an unusual event to see him wearing a suit, even, but she felt slightly surprised he’d see her birthday as occasion enough to groom himself. The realization made a blush creep up onto her face.
The wrapping paper began to unravel its’ contents, and Noodle recognized it was a vinyl record case. “The Who Sell Out”, no less.
“Oh my God, guys…!”, Noodle gasped, covering her mouth in amazement briefly before carefully picking up the case to examine it. “Thank you so much! This is amazing!”
Russel nodded his head in satisfaction. “Knew you’d like it.”
“What the hell…”, Noodle’s eyes were still glued to her new prized possession, “This is crazy, Russ. How’d you get your hands on this?”
“I have my methods”, he chuckled.
Noodle finally brought her gaze back up to look at her bandmates. She was suddenly taken aback by the frown 2D’s face had taken on, seemingly absent-mindedly, though it quickly turned into a half-smile as she made eye contact with him… as if he’d tried to hide his true feelings away from her.
Murdoc broke the silence.
“Well, I’d say it’s about time we crack the spirits open, eh? Not that I’ve just been waiting for that the whole time, heh…”
***
A good three hours later, everyone’s mood had improved considerably, this including 2D, who’d now began to strip down the anxiety from before. Noodle wasn’t sure of the reason for his demeanor, but it wasn’t completely unusual for him to go through these types of moods. This typically happened when he was going at life unmedicated (whether it was self- or prescribed medication, didn’t seem to play a significant role) and the existential weight of life as well as his unhealed traumas began to outweigh his intellectual and cognitive abilities. Noodle was wondering whether this was one of those times and whether she would’ve been doing something immoral with what she had in store…
“And— And— Do you lot remember the time 2D played “double or quits” with Damon Albarn?”, Murdoc’s laugh roared inside the living room and he slammed the bottle of whiskey he’d been drinking out of against the glass tabletop, nearly breaking it.
“Murdoc, what the—“
“Bloody beat his arse at it, too”, 2D ignored the disaster that had just almost happened, cutting off Noodle’s bewildered curse, as he referred to Murdoc’s anecdote from his past. 2D’s eyelids narrowed as he downed another shot - just barely grimacing. Another side effect of him taking less drugs was usually a healthier dose of assertiveness, sometimes even aggression, that he would begin to show in daily life. All that meant was that, instead of Murdoc constantly abusing and exploiting him, would be replaced by their more frequent fights and skirmishes. But did this really have to happen today, Noodle pondered.
“Heh”, Murdoc gave back, “I guess you were still compensatin’ after all those years. I don’t blame ya.”
Noodle could almost watch 2D’s face get redder with rage in real time.
“I’m warning you, Murdoc”, Russel, sitting to Murdoc’s right on the couch, who had been silent until now, growled, “Better shut it now.”
“Can’t be easy to deal with having yer girlfriend choose the better man, eh?”
Before anyone could say anything else, 2D was grabbing at Murdoc’s collar, encouraged by the alcohol flowing through his nervous system. As the singer breathed heavily through gritted teeth, Noodle could see his eyes, normally white and empty nowadays, slowly fade in to black.
“Guys, please, not on my birthday— Okay?”, she rested a calming hand on 2D’s shoulder, trying to distract him from Murdoc. 2D threw her a glance and the frown on his face softened. He let his fists go of Murdoc’s shirt. Instead of sitting back down in the armchair, after sizing everyone in the room up, he left the table and went on his way upstairs. Shortly after he was done climbing the stairs, the sound of a door being slammed shut reached the three remaining band members.
“Faceache’s not been takin’ his meds lately. Goes to show why he needs them happy pills.”
Noodle sighed. “You’re such a piece of shit, Murdoc.”
The bassist in question sneered, fixing the wrinkles 2D made in his shirt, and took a swig out of the whiskey bottle.
Noodle got up from the couch and began heading to 2D’s room.
“Good idea, you handle this, Noodle. You’re good with him, after all. Well, if you’ll excuse me, guys, I‘ve already exceeded my allotted time slot for this little function and I‘ll be retreating to my respite. G’night”, Murdoc bid farewell. Noodle ignored him, while the only response from Russel was a death glare.
When Noodle reached the door to 2D’s room, she hesitated for a moment. The little plastic bag in her pocket made her reconsider her intentions. Was it a good idea to still try to go through with this? She pressed the door handle and entered the room. It actually looked somewhat more orderly than the last time she’d seen it. 2D was sprawled out on the bed with his eyes closed.
“Fuck, Noods”, he groaned, but kept his eyes shut. Apparently, he didn’t need to look to know that it was her who’d entered the room. “I’m so bloody pissed.”
She wasn’t sure if he meant “drunk” or “angry”, but it probably didn’t matter, either way.
“Should I get you that beer you left downstairs?”
“No… No. ‘S just makin’ me feel worse.”
Noodle smirked a little, sadly, feeling some kind of pity for 2D. He was middle-aged at this point, but still looked and behaved like a young boy. Still struggling to keep a hold of his emotions. His dress shirt was unbuttoned now and the fabric folds framed his thin, pale body. She’d seen him shirtless so often, and yet, the sight of the fine pubic hair leading down from his bellybutton and disappearing under the waistband of his underwear still managed to make her heart beat faster. She’d never found out what he looks like underneath, after all.
Noodle sat down on the edge of the bed next to him and reached for the pack of cigarettes lying on the drawer, next to the two aging, empty coffee mugs, and the kalimba he’d newly gotten for himself (she’d hear him fiddling around with it, playing random, unstructured melodies whenever he was cooped up in his room). The lack of any kind of pills on the drawer was surprising, but even more so, the lack of a lighter. She began to search around the bed area, until she felt 2D lightly tap her shoulder as he pulled one out of his pocket. Finally, he opened one eye to look at her and smiled, rather unconvincingly.
“What’s going on, ‘D?”, Noodle began, speaking somewhat unclearly with the cigarette between her lips, as the lighter clicked and conjured up a flame.
2D didn‘t answer immediately. He finally sat up next to her, shuffled his shoulders to bring his shirt back to its’ correct position, and lazily began to button it back up. Noodle wished she could telepathically order him to stop, or paralyze his hands, but that wasn’t on the agenda for her. When she passed him the smoke, his eyes (now white again) stopped briefly at the lipstick mark she‘d left on it, but he went on to take a drag of his own. He held it for what felt like ages, then slowly released the grey cloud that curled up between them.
“I don’t fuckin’ know, Noods”, he sighed and began rubbing his forehead with his palm, “I’m tryin’ to lay off the pills. Clearly, it don’t seem to be helpin’.”
It was Noodle’s turn with the cigarette. “Your desire to be sober is hardly the cause of your problems.”
“I know. It’s just…”, he paused to sigh, “I-I wanna be more “me” again. Like when Muds was away, y’know? I’m just not sure that “me” is… like, a decent bloke. And… if I wanna be a bad person. To others, I mean… And if I wanna be this angry and anxious the way I’ve been…” His fingers were tapping against his knee, clearly missing the occupation of holding the cigarette, looking for something to fidget with. Noodle relieved them, pushing the cigarette into his hand.
“‘D… Not letting Murdoc treat you like trash has nothing to do with you being a bad guy.”
The singer exhaled another puff of smoke. “That record you got, Noods? That was all Russ. I’ve been racking my brain for weeks tryin’ to come up with a gift for your birthday. But I couldn’t… I couldn’t think of anything”, she turned to look at him and they immediately made eye contact - she realized how much pain and guilt hid behind his eyes, “Back when… Back when we made Demon Days, I used to know you so well. But you were just a lil’ girl back then… You’ve changed so much and I couldn’t keep up, eh?”
The chuckle at the end of his sentence almost broke Noodle’s heart. Little did he know, she had been going through similar. She’d been yearning to connect with him the way they used to when she was a kid for years, but the maturity she’s developed, and the intense feeling of wanting to tear his clothes off anytime she’d look at him for a little too long, made all that quite a bit more challenging. With any other guy, she’d just have had an honest conversation about it. But 2D wasn’t just any guy - he was very sweet and kind-hearted, but simple, and slow when it came to processing words that others spoke to him - especially anything profound or with multiple meanings. Them having a heart-to-heart now wouldn’t necessarily lead to desirable outcomes. God knows how many times she’d tried - each time, 2D appeared completely closed off to sharing any of his own feelings beyond the surface level. Her trying again now could only murk the waters of their relationship further. Besides… she wouldn’t even know where to start.
Noodle smiled at him warmly, and reached for the kalimba on his drawer, intent on changing the subject for now. Immediately, she began fiddling with the instrument. “It has the same tones as a guitar, correct?”
2D nodded, relaxing somewhat and waiting for her attempt at playing. Off the bat, she played a perfect interpretation of his keyboard part in “Tranz”.
“Really good”, he praised eagerly, nodding his head in approval. Noodle stood up and headed towards his desk, a little away from the side of the bed. “See?”, she smirked at him, looking over her shoulder, “Everything’s okay, ‘D.”
2D blinked a few times as she began to look through his desk drawers. “You… You lookin’ for something in particular…?”, he questioned. It was then that Noodle bent over deeply enough that she knew he would be able to see up her skirt. That should distract him enough, she thought.
“Um… Noodle?”, he spoke up again, this time more assertive, acting oblivious to the fact that he could see Noodle’s ass, “Do you need something…? Can I help you?”
Without him noticing, she took a pill out of the little bag in her pocket, placed it in her mouth and pushed it between her gums and cheek, for safekeeping. She stood up straight again and pulled the hem of her skirt - that had rolled up quite a bit during the little show she’d given him - down ostentatiously, grinning playfully. “It doesn’t seem like you have what I need”, she took a few steps closer to him, until she was standing right in front of him, looking down at his perplexed face, “but you can still help me.”
2D nearly suffered a panic attack as Noodle’s thighs were suddenly enclosing his, her arms on his shoulders and the warmth emanating from her crotch now pressed against his. The scream he was about to release died in his throat as Noodle’s palm covered his mouth… as if he was a little kid getting silenced by his mum.
“I don’t mind that you didn’t know what to get me for my birthday”, she whispered into his ear and 2D could feel the warmth and moisture of her breath, “I’ll get my gift from you now.”
2D tried to wriggle out from beneath her, but her thighs felt as strong and durable as a hydraulic press. Instead, he grabbed her by her wrists and pulled her away enough to look her in the face. So he can fight back if he really wants to, Noodle thought.
“W-What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing, Noodle?! This isn’t a fuckin’ joke!”, 2D protested frantically, now managing to push Noodle away, gently, back onto the bed next to him. His cheeks were now flushed pink and Noodle could hardly stand how cute he looked.
“What I said I was doing. I wanted to get my gift”, she stated matter-of-factly, getting up to sit again. Of course she expected that his immediate reaction would be like this. It was only a matter of how much resistance he was going to put up.
“Bloody hell, Noods. Do I got gift wrap and bows around me or what?”, he ran a hand through his hair and exhaled with strain, “Wait, don’t answer that. I know you’re not soddin’ daft! You got no business runnin’ around and trying to shag yer’ bandmates for your birthday!”
Noodle sighed, too, and sat up properly next to the confused 2D again. “I’m not out to shag Russel or - shudder - Murdoc. Just you. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“You don’t see what the bi— Oh, fuck… Alright, lil’ love, listen to me, okay? I know the way you‘ve seen me and Muds treat women - that‘s not right, got it…? I hope you don‘t see us doin‘ that and think ‘s what you deserve…”, his tone became increasingly serious and he put both his hands on her shoulders, “Noodle, don‘t ever let some wanker get into your pants ‘just ‘cos ya think he’s someone or something silly like that… I know I’ve been that bloke for too many girls… And I’m not about to be it for you, too!”
Noodle laughed out loud. “‘D, I’m 28 now. Thanks for your concern, but it’s a little late for that”, she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin against them, “Look, it’s nothing shallow like that. I want you, ‘D. I’ve wanted you for, like, half my life. I think it’s high time I got to have what I wanted. Simple as that.”
2D only seemed more helpless the longer the conversation went on. “But, Noodle, I’m in my forties now, you’re— Well, you know how old you are — W-Why? Why the bloody hell me?”
“Because you’re you. I want you, 2D. Twenty or thirty or forty or fifty or a goddamn hundred years old. Do you get it already?”
She started to get closer to him again and trapped his palm underneath her own.
“Noodle… Stop it. Muds and Russ are gonna kill me… Please, lil’ love.”
Noodle made no steps towards stopping and brought her other hand to cup the side of his neck.
“W-Wha’ about the band, huh, Noodle? Haven’t we bloody been through enough? Don’t shit where you sleep, and all tha’ rubbish? ‘S what Muds always says!”
He flinched under her touch as her thumb brushed against his earlobe, her fingers buried in his blue locks.
“I-I’m too old for you, lil’ love.”
Her face was close enough to feel her breath against his lips again.
“Noodle? C-Can’t you just listen to reason? I’m begging you…”
“Reason?”, Noodle was starting to become impatient. This would’ve been easier if he had been taking his pills. “You’re too old for me? Explain this to me, then - you’ve fucked girls half your age, so why don’t you ever even take a look at me…? I’m a mature fucking woman compared to some of those groupies you take home with you…”
2D’s defenses were getting weaker by the second. She saw how he was hopelessly running out of ways to rationalize stopping her in his thick head - now it was time to strike the iron while it was hot.
“Be honest, 2D. Do you want me too?”, her fingertips brushed against his lips as he retreated into a half-lying position under Noodle’s pressure - she kept on getting nearer, and that was his final attempt at preventing them both from indulging in each other. He gulped loudly, but gave no response, simply watching and admiring her determination. Noodle was certain - deep inside, he was aware that he couldn’t stop her. He had already given himself up to her.
“Noodle… Fuck…”, he breathed, knowing that he was about to allow something that couldn’t be undone, “‘Course I do! I feel like a bloody degenerate every day ‘cos of you… ‘Specially as long as Muds’ been gone and stopped getting between us. I felt like I could finally get closer to you… I thought ‘twas innocent, til’ you started makin’ me balls tingle!” He inhaled deeply and exhaled with exasperation, as if the confession had caused him actual physical strain. “And now… Why you gotta be doin’ this to me, lil’ love?”
“Because it’s gonna be amazing, ‘D.”
With those words, she closed the distance between his and her lips, 2D finally letting himself fall onto the bed completely, Noodle’s thighs straddling him with the same firm pressure as before, again. Her palms had found his and their fingers became intertwined next to 2D’s shoulders - when Noodle’s tongue was the one to make the step of penetrating his mouth, he felt completely, wonderfully vulnerable. In this moment, his powerlessness against Noodle’s intentions felt like absolute bliss. And she was about to take him to heaven now… wasn’t she?
It’ll be like reflex, Noodle thought. Once a pill is inside of Stuart Harold Pot’s mouth, he’s going to swallow it, guaranteed.
As if triggered by the sudden doubt in his mind, 2D felt a foreign object being pushed onto his tongue, then deep, deeper, until it sat at the back of his throat - the unmistakable sensation of a prescription pill. Panicking at the unexpected feeling, the reflex to swallow kicked in, and he felt his eyes well up with tears as he choked on the excess saliva (his and Noodle’s mixed together) accidentally running down his windpipe. Noodle sat up straight on top of him as he jerked upwards in his coughing fit.
“W-What - the fuck - Noods?!”
She wiped the saliva from her mouth and gazed blankly back at him, eyes half-lidded.
“I-I was gonna let it happen, you don’t have to soddin’ drug me! The hell was that thing?! A roofie?!”
“No, 2D. You’ve tripped before, right? It’s gonna be kinda like that. You see, I don’t want you to be so unhappy with yourself. I hope you can learn something from this trip to help you”, she lied, but it was for the better, “But don’t worry. It’s not addictive or unhealthy or anything. From a trusted seller.” This part was the truth.
“Holy shit… God fucking help me, Noodle”, he collapsed onto the bed again, apparently losing his final shred of hope that this day could still end normally in some way. He covered his eyes with the back of his palm in defeat, “I’m so… not ready to trip right now…”
He was still tipsy, which worked in Noodle’s favor. She began to stroke his arm in a comforting manner. “Don’t worry about anything, ‘D. Everything’s fine… I’ll stay right here with you. If anything bad goes down, I’ll know. So, just relax and let it happen. You trust me, right? I’ve always protected you…”
For a long while, she stayed by his side, stroking the entire length of his arm, from his collarbone down to his palm, up and down, slowly, again and again. Soon enough, 2D’s mental exhaustion got the better of him. I’m not doing anything wrong, right…? It’s not like when Murdoc doses him with weird stuff, Noodle wondered, as she watched 2D’s breath become rhythmic, indicating that he had fallen asleep. With his lips slightly parted and the tooth gap peeking out between them, his usual sparsely growing mustache above them, it took all the restrain she had to not start kissing him again. But there were bigger feats to accomplish now.